Mountain View Traffic School

The Census Bureau estimates 85,438 residents in Mountain View on July 1, 2025. US 101, State Route 85 and State Route 237 all cross the city, and El Camino Real, which is State Route 82, runs through it under Caltrans control. The city's safety plan calls El Camino Real consistently the highest injury corridor on its High Injury Network.

Tickets in Mountain View come from two agencies. The Mountain View Police Department enforces traffic laws on city streets, and the California Highway Patrol's Redwood City, San Jose and Hollister-Gilroy Areas serve Santa Clara County, freeways included. Whichever agency writes the ticket, Santa Clara County Superior Court handles it under the same traffic school rules.

In the Office of Traffic Safety's 2023 rankings, crashes in Mountain View killed or injured 215 people, 76th of 103 cities of similar size, where 1st is the worst result. Bicyclists stand out, with 40 killed or injured, 7th in the group, and 6 of them were under 15. Pedestrians numbered 23, 45th. The rankings describe the city's streets overall, not fault in any one case.

The City Council unanimously adopted a Vision Zero policy in December 2019 to end fatal traffic crashes in Mountain View by 2030, and it adopted the Vision Zero Action Plan and Local Road Safety Plan in September 2024. That plan found that 61 percent of people killed or seriously injured were in crashes between drivers and bicyclists or pedestrians. Arterials posted above 35 mph make up 20 percent of city streets but 73 percent of those serious crashes. El Camino Real and Central Expressway sit on the High Injury Network, yet Caltrans and Santa Clara County run them, not the city.

Tickets written in Mountain View go to Santa Clara County Superior Court, which takes traffic at the Family Justice Center Courthouse, 201 N. First Street in San Jose, and at the South County Morgan Hill Courthouse, 301 Diana Avenue, code 43635. The DMV list has no code for the Family Justice Center, so rely on the code your citation shows. The traffic line for both is (408) 556-3000. The court provides interpreters for free, lists traffic cases in its first priority group and works in over 50 languages, so tell the clerk your language when you ask for a court date.

Traffic school is the court's decision, made from a bail schedule that labels each offense eligible or not. After your citation enters the court's system, the court mails a courtesy notice laying out your options and a due date, and that is when you can sign up. The court sets the traffic school fee added to the bail, and the notice shows it. A ticket that requires a mandatory appearance needs a court date first. Mirai Traffic School's $24.99 course is paid separately, to the school.

Mirai Traffic School reports your completion to the DMV electronically, and the court retrieves it from there. The court will not accept proof of completion from an unlicensed school, and the DMV licenses Mirai Traffic School as E0756. Once the report is in, the court says you have nothing further to do.